Police suspect land mafia involved in two land officials’ murder

Karachi
Police suspect the involvement of the land mafia in the murder of two land officials on Sunday night.
National Highway Authority deputy director Sohail Bhatti, 45, and Lyari Expressway Resettlement Project deputy director Talat Nazeer Khan, 47, were travelling in a double-cabin vehicle bearing number plate GP-8557 when two men riding a motorcycle fired gunshots at them near NIPA flyover.
“Both officials were neither associated with any religious or political outfit, nor did they have any sectarian connections,” SP Gulshan-e-Iqbal Abid Qaimkhani told The News on Monday.
“Both the officials were associated with land departments so it is possible that land grabbers could have been responsible for their killing,” he added.
The SP said police had found a pistol in the vehicle in which the officials were travelling.
“This indicates that the two officials were aware that their lives were in danger.”
The official said the killers were well-trained as they had fired gunshots at moving vehicle while riding a motorcycle.
“The land mafia is behind many target killings in the city,” he added.
The Aziz Bhatti station investigation officer is investigating the case, but police high-ups have decided to form a team of senior investigators to separately investigate the dual murder.
The SP ruled out the possibility of personal enmity as the motive behind the dual murder. “The families of both men have denied that they had any enemies,” he said. “Besides, they were both of different ethnicities and backgrounds.”